Khruangbin at Boston Calling 2024

A few weeks ago over Memorial Day weekend I worked for the first time Boston Calling Music Festival which meant that I had a chance to see Khruangbin for the first time. The psychedelic rock/new-age funk band, pronounced KRUNG-bin, started popping up on festival lines up this year ahead of the April 5th release of, A La Sala,  their fifth studio album. Soon after came their own tour announcement. 

Khruangbin at Boston Calling 5/25/2024
photo by Nikki DeMartini

They played on Saturday, show day two, infamously known as the busiest show day at any given show. Boston Calling proved to be an anomoly with it's biggest ticket selling day being on Sunday night when The Killers headlined and closed out the festival. 

The line-up this year was a good mix from Megan Thee Stallion, Blondshell, Renee Rapp to Ed Sheeran, Beach Weather and Tyler Childers, to name a few. A golden hour set was fitting for Khruangbin's ultra chill aura. Nestled in on the more Country music inclined day the three piece group played the main stage, Green Stage from 6:05 - 7:05, ahead of that night's headliner, Tyler Childers. 

It's unclear what time is was by the time me and a few coworkers found a spot to watch and enjoy, I couldn't even tell ya what song they were playing. Khruangbin is a band that's been on my must see list for a while. Albeit festival sets are hit or miss I was just happy to be there.

The crowd had already started beefing up in anticipation of the headliner yet there was still plenty of room to comfortably stand, watch and dance or sway if you will, to their enrapturing tunes. 

Their stage design almost mirrored the image of their latest album's cover art: windows against an outside skyview of blue sky and puffy white clouds. The walls on the album cover are red and on stage they were beige but the tie in was obvious. In an avant garde-ish power suit of rust-orange colored pants and matching tutu-ish top,  topped off with a matching headband, leading lady Laura Lee Ocha  was perfection. She matched the golden hue of their sunset set which played into the band's sunset vibes.  From where I was standing it looked as if guitarist Mark Speer was sporting a brown three piece suit as he strolled around stage. 

Khruangbin A La Sala album cover art

The two had sweet interactions with each other through out the set and made it a point to bring their playing to drummer DJ Johnson who was tucked somewhere in the stage design. As easy going as their music is, seeing them live fosters the same sort of feeling,  Khruangbin's grooves make you feel groovy because it's welcoming and judgement free. Khrubangbin has curated an all encompassing atmosphere around Khrubangbin: from their music and albums to their stage design and their stage presence. And it all feels geniune. That's the ticket. Good, genuine music at a show, a festival set no less, that isn't phoned in or contrived. 

Ready to go at any moment if duty called, I was discreetly elated to be soaking in the moment. Then, familiar sounds of two of my favorite songs of theirs, "So We Don't Forget" and "Time (You and I)" made it that much better.
Eyes closed, setting sun on my face,  I did my best to let the music take me away and with Khruangbin that's not hard to do. 

Khruangbin at Boston Calling 5/25/2024
photo by Nikki DeMartini

Surprisingly no pressing calls came through for our crew while we were enjoying ourselves at Green Stage and we ended up staying right up until the end, extending our fun through "People Everywhere (Still Alive)" and "Maria tambien".
The best work break you can ask for. 

Aside from the fact that Boston Calling keeps the volume at all of the stages low, I thought Khruangbin sounded just fine. Their  sound and matching aesthetic were a perfect fit for when they played. A golden sunset all-call radio call soundtrack. 

Khruangbin set-list @ Boston Calling 5/25/2024
1. Pon Pon
2. Todavia Viva
3. Juegos y Nubes
4. Dern Kala
5. Lady and The Man
6. The Infamous Bill 
7. So We Won't Forget
8. Evan Finds the Third Room
9. Time (You and I) 
10. People Everywhere (Still Alive)
11. Maria Tambien

Khruangbin are on the move this Summer, sharing their feel good grooves along the way!

Blackbird Doughnuts in Boston

 One of the first things I did before I even got to Boston to work Boston Calling music festival was look up where to eat. And, at the top of my "best foods in of Boston" search? Not cupcakes but their cousin, donuts.
The first donut spot that popped up in Boston was Blackbird Doughnuts but would my crazy work schedule allow me to find and try Blackbird donuts?
I was about to find out. 

Luckily for me, one fateful load-in day as my coworkers and I walked to our long thought after lunch destination we walked right by Blackbird donuts. Being the only one who noticed, I was instantly excited and excused myself to grab my wallet from the car. 

"where are you going?!"
"I'm going to buy donuts!"

Met with much less enthusiam from the guy behind the counter, I burst into the small shop wide eyed and beaming. The donuts were all on display in a glass case. Some fancier looking than others. Cake and raised. All with a little beaded name tag on top sans description or price. 

Blackbird doughnut from Balckbird Doughnuts in Boston
photo by Nikki DeMartini

I had gone in for one donut but I left with three: 

1. Blackbird = vanilla cake with vanilla glaze.

2. Blueberry Lavender (not pictured) = rasied doughnut with a purple, blueberry lavender flavored glaze frosting. 

3. Strawberry Cupcake = vanilla cake with a strawberry buttercream frosting and a sprinkle of chocolate sprinkles. 

I love me an Old Fashioned doughnut and the Blackbird doughnut looked like the closest thing to an Old Fashioned that they had to offer so there was no question there.
I am a sucker for purple (no I am not a purple person) and though I'm more of a cake girl than raised, I do enjoy a a good lavender flavor so Blueberry Lavender was my second choice. As the not very friendly assumed Bostonian put the two doughnuts in a white paper bag I noticed the name of one of the cupcakes in the display case. Strawberry Cupcake. 
Strawberry Cupcake doughnut?!

I added one Strawberry Cupcake doughnut to my order in the nick of time and watched in a subtle horror as the Blackbird employee added the doughnut covered in whipped buttercream frosting in the bag with the other two doughnuts instead of a separate box. Or at the very least it's own bag but whateva, Boston!

Little did I know that this was the flavor of month in May which is understandable because strawberry season in Massechusetts starts in May! 

What I did know is that I love doughnuts, I review cupcakes,  I've been saying doughnuts are cupcakes' cousins for a while and cupcake doughnuts aren't something you see very often, if at all. 

This was the last doughnut that I ate. The rasied blueberry lavender was the first to go because raised doughnuts go stale faster and knew I wasn't eating all three doughnuts in one day. I was unsurprisingly underwhelmed. The blueberry and lavender were indsitingishable confirming my suspesions that the eyecatching icing was nothing but a ploy. 

Next up, the signature Blackbird doughnut. 
I have put a lot of delicious doughnuts in my mouth. This one takes the cake as one of the best doughnuts I've ever had the pleasure of eating. The buttery, fluffy cake melted in my mouth with each bite. It doesn't have the shape or consistancy of original Old Fashioned doughnuts but there is a crispiness around it's edges that's undeniably Old Fashioned doughnut fashion. Same goes for the icing that smoothered the whole thing. Ten out of ten. 

Blackbird doughnut from Balckbird Doughnuts in Boston
photo by Nikki DeMartini

The last doughnut I ate was the Strawberry Cupcake one, I kept it in the fridge until it was time to preserve what I thought was whipped cream on top. 

Turns out it was not whipped cream but in fact strawberry flavored buttercream. It wasn't until I made my way to the center of the frosted cupcake doughnut that the frosting got more dense which leads me to believe it's a whipped buttercream frosting. 

I smelled the strawberry before I tasted it which was leaps and bounds in comaprrison to the blueberry, lavender flavor of the other cupcake. Both the Blackbird doughnut and the Strawberry Cupcake doughnut are cake based but they were two totally different cakes! As mentioned above, the cake of the Blackbird Doughnut was fluffy and buttery but the Strawberry Cupcake doughnut wasn't butteryor fluffy, it was what you expect of a doughnut shop cake based doughnut. Of course I took into consideration that it had been in the fridge which may have contributed to it's denseness but not it's lack of buttery-ness. 

This was a first, I couldn't finish it. I enjoyed it with a cup of coffee before work and it was just too much first thing in the morning. My huge sweet tooth was no match for this doughnut. Children will rejoice but parents be ware! 

So grateful that this unexpected work perk happened: I got to eat Boston based doughnuts in Boston and discovered that doughnut cupcakes are indeed a thing. 

New month means new flavors of the month at Blackbird Doughnuts!

Before leaving Boston a great friend, beautiful mentor, a lovely lady from Boston showed me around town. She's not, not a foodie and took me to some good local spots including Mike's Pastry.
Infamous for their cannolis, Mike's is a stop you can't miss when in Boston, a must, a tourist attraction. The place was packed and a little chaotic. A border of photos of every flavor of cannoli they have lines the walls, there must be over twenty different flavors! An array of other pasteries filled the pastry cases and in one of them, cupcakes.

Beacause Mike's is cash only and I only had a little bit of cash on me I spent it on one cannoli (I wanted to get three) and since it was my first experience of Mike's Pastry I went with the traditional cannoli flavor ie: plain. It was delish.
My friend got a pistachio cannoli and shared it with me.
When I say she's the best she's the best, she shared her cannoli with me and I didn't even have to ask.  

Mike's Pastry s in Boston
photo by Nikki DeMartini

Before leaving, my indecisiveness and subsequent last minute addition of two Italian anise cookies to my order visibly annoyed the very Bostonian lady behind the counter who helped us.
Was my California showing?
My friend and I giggled about it as we left, I got the full Boston experience. Next time I go back I'll be ready with my order and it will probably include a cupcake. And maybe a Boston Creme pie, we will see!

Fuck Me Up Alison Wonderland

 Back in May one of the biggest names in EDM these days, Alison Wonderland, launched her own "festival friendy" beauty line!

Nothing can top when the then 36 year old Aussie performed EDC Las Vegas nine months pregnant in 2023 but don't try stopping this powerhouse! On May 15th, 2024  just three days before performing the main stage at EDC Las Vegas, Alison Wonderland dropped  FMU: festival friendly multi use products for everyone. 

Fuck Me Up beauty products from Alison Wonderland
photo by Nikki DeMartini

FMU's UFO Body Art Pens offer day-glow colors that will shock and amaze under any and every black light. One end of the pen has a hearty felt tip, perfect for all of the lines, designs and cat-eyes while the other end is a fun shaped stamp to make plur looks pop.
 There's also the Hyper Hue Lip & Cheek Tint which changes color. Think mood ring but make-up.
Both pens and tints are currently available in three different colors.

The bright colors are well pigmented and meant to last the entire night in to the wee morning hours as you rave away, plus all Fuck Me Up products are animal cruelity free.  It wouldn't be very peace, love, unity and respect if Alison Wonderland made make-up that wasn't animal cruelity free now would it? 
To top it off, at 16 to 20 dollars a pop you won't fuck up your bank account buying this stuff!

Not to be confused with Brooke Candy's single "FMU", Alison's 2017's "Happy Place" bears the lyrics "fuck me up" nestled in the chorus hence the name of her beauty line. 

Now when you get glitzed, glammed and ready to say "fuck me up" you can rave easy knowing your eyeliner and lip gloss won't get fucked up.
Fuck around and find out with Alison Wonderland on your side, don't miss her at Beyond Wonderland at The Gorge!